Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, laying down seven conditions that he claimed could help the opposition party increase its strength
in Parliament.
In a sarcastic message directed at Gandhi, Rijiju suggested that the Congress leader should spend more time in India, stay away from people he described as anti-India and give up dynastic politics.
In a post on X, Rijiju outlined his suggestions, saying the Congress could “win more MPs” if Gandhi followed the seven points.
His remarks came amid an escalating war of words between the BJP and Congress over the opposition’s demand for an open debate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Among the suggestions, Rijiju asked Gandhi to “spend more time in India and avoid secret foreign vacations frequently.” He also called on him to respect senior leaders and learn from their experience, invoking what he described as Indian tradition.
The Union minister further urged Gandhi to “Do not meet Anti-India people and stop promoting their agenda.”
In another pointed remark, Rijiju asked the Congress leader to “end deep hatred against BJP, RSS & Modi Ji” and regard the BJP as a political rival rather than an enemy.
His remaining suggestions concerned parliamentary conduct, constitutional institutions and the Congress’s internal functioning. He asked Gandhi to “take Parliament more seriously and let MPs take part in debates & discussion.”
The final two conditions called for respecting the Constitution and constitutional institutions, while allowing the Congress to operate democratically and putting an end to dynastic politics.
Rijiju Questions Opposition’s Commitment To Parliamentary Debate
Earlier on Wednesday, Rijiju had shared a video from his parliamentary speech, in which he criticised opposition leaders for walking out of the House.
“Parliament is the House for debates & discussion. But people who don’t believe in democracy, debates and discussion are talking about debate,” the parliamentary affairs minister said.
His remarks came as Rahul Gandhi renewed his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an open debate.
Gandhi claimed that a face-to-face discussion would expose the Prime Minister and said he could establish within five minutes that Modi was a traitor.
The challenge drew a sharp response from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also joined the exchange, backing Gandhi’s demand and asking Modi to respond to questions surrounding alleged “vote theft”.
“PM Modi is parroting his flop line of Dimaagi Naxal’! He has NO answer on Vote Chori and the Open Challenge by Rahul Gandhi to discuss how he mortgaged Indian interests to Foreign powers!” Kharge said.
Rijiju responded to Kharge’s remarks by explaining what he meant by the term ‘Dimaagi Naxal’.
“Kharge Ji, Dimaagi Naxal is a term not a narrative. Only following are Dimaagi Naxals: Who support Maoists agenda, and reject Indian Constitution. Who stand with the separatists & support Article 370. Who want to stop the development projects of India. Who conspire to cut chicken neck to separate North-East from India,” he said.
With inputs from PTI
